Asked whether the organisers will make anybody from Bollywood the brand ambassador, the organising committee chairman said nothing has been finalised yet.
In a possible continuation of the Congress’s rebuke of Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachc-han, Commonwealth Games Organising committee chief Suresh Kalmadi on Tuesday rejected the BJP’s demand for making Big B the brand ambassador for the event.
Kalmadi said he “personally” feels that a “young sports icon” should be chosen as brand ambassador for the sporting event scheduled to be held in the national capital from October 3 to 14.
But who are the “young sports icons” he has in mind? On the sidelines of a function to launch sale of tickets for the April 12-18 Badminton Asia Championship held at Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s home, Kalmadi said: “We are thinking of Milkha Singh and PT Usha.”
Kalmadi, a Congress MP known for his proximity to the party’s core group, claimed he wasn’t opposed to Bachchan being made the Commonwealth Games brand ambassador per se, but would prefer young sportspersons.
VK Malhotra, senior BJP functionary and leader of opposition in the Delhi assembly, had in a letter to Kalmadi on Sunday, demanded that Bachc-han be appointed as brand ambassador of the Games.
Arguing that Bachchan had been the brand ambassador of the 1982 Asian Games, Malhotra, who is also senior vice president of the Indian Olympic Association, had written: “I suggest Bachchan should be appointed as the brand ambassador of the Commonwealth Games. Bachchan is an icon for youngsters.”
Considering the ongoing political shadowboxing between the Congress and the Bachchan family, it was largely expected that Malhotra’s demand would not be met.
Reacting to Kalmadi’s rejection of his demand, Malhotra said: “In 1982, he was close to the Congress and was chosen brand ambassador for Delhi Asiad. Though we didn’t agree with his political leanings then, we didn’t oppose him. This hate campaign is aimed at pleasing Congress chief Sonia Gandhi who has a personal conflict with the Bachchans,” Malhotra told DNA.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}